TUCSON – U.S. House members kept the spotlight on the Phoenix VA Health Care System Thursday during hearings on veterans' access to mental-health care, vowing to further probe allegations that up to 40 vets died while waiting for medical appointments.

The field hearing Thursday on southern Arizona veterans' experiences came as Arizona's Senate delegation announced that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, will hold a hearing on allegations of VA patient neglect in Phoenix after the VA Inspector General completes an independent investigation.

Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, told The Arizona Republic Thursday that his staff would continue examining allegations of misconduct at the Phoenix facility as part of an ongoing inquiry into VA hospitals nationwide.

The Republic two weeks ago reported VA whistle-blowers' allegations of falsified records, preventable or premature deaths, mismanagement and other systemic problems in Phoenix. Dr. Sam Foote, who retired from the Phoenix VA in December, provided the paper with documents he filed with the VA Inspector General seeking inquiries into alleged medical-care failures and administrative misconduct.

Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., who chairs the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, has said he has evidence the Phoenix VA Health Care System kept two sets of records to hide prolonged patient waits for doctor appointments and treatment.

Sharon Helman, director of the Phoenix VA system, has said that she does not know of any patients who died awaiting care and that she is unaware of improper manipulation of patient-access data. She also has said the VA has no knowledge of veteran deaths stemming from delayed care and does not have the names of those who purportedly died while awaiting appointments.

The Republic in March filed a public-records request seeking patient-access data, Inspector General complaints and other documents related to the controversy. No materials have been provided to date.

"The concern is they (Phoenix) are not delivering the care that they say they are delivering, and in doing so, they are sacrificing patient safety," Coffman told The Republic before the Tucson hearing. "And there have been allegations of a number of deaths that resulted from that."

Coffman said House investigators have shared information they received with the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which was in Phoenix this week.

Coffman was in Tucson with fellow Veterans' Affairs Committee member Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., for a hearing on whether veterans were getting access to mental-health care and traumatic brain-injury services. The hearing before roughly 200 people at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System had been scheduled before the recent accusations of mismanagement and neglect at the Phoenix VA Health Care System.

But the controversy in Phoenix was discussed. Kirkpatrick told the audience that while members of Congress do not yet have all the facts, "we do know delayed care is denial of care" and that lengthy waits need to end.

"I am deeply concerned that lengthy appointment wait times in the VA system may be discouraging veterans from seeking help when they need it the most," Kirkpatrick said.

Kirkpatrick said she too would seek a hearing focusing exclusively on issues raised at the Phoenix VA after the Inspector General's probe.

Joining Coffman and Kirkpatrick at the hearing was Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., who said she was "extremely disturbed" by allegations about the Phoenix VA.

Republic reporter Dennis Wagner contributed to this article.

Coming Saturday

Officials at the Phoenix VA Health Care System contend they were blindsided by whistle-blower allegations that patient records were falsified and that dozens of veterans died awaiting care, but documents obtained by The Republic show there were plenty of red flags. In a special report, Arizona administrators targeted by a VA Inspector General probe and congressional inquiries strive to explain and defend their practices.